Prince's doctor prescribed him pills under another name, documents reveal

Elijah Vega |Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Search warrants in Prince's death to be unsealed Monday

Dr. Michael Schulenberg said he prescribed Prince - whose April 21, 2016 death was ruled as an opioid overdose - Oxycodone under his bodyguard Kirk Johnson's name in order to preserve his privacy, according to multiple search warrants executed past year.

Prince's physician, Dr. Michael Schulenberg, issued a prescription for the pain killer oxycodone on April 16, 2016 - the same day that the singer's plane had to make a post-concert emergency landing when he "passed out" while aboard after taking pain pills. Some were in prescription bottles for Kirk Johnson, Prince's longtime friend and associate.

Johnson, a close confidante and aide who started working for Prince in the '80s, said he was unaware the singer was addicted to pain medication, according to the documents.

Investigators also found that "interviews with those who were at Paisley Park the morning Prince was found deceased have provided inconsistent and, at times, contradictory statements".

Oxycodone, the generic name for the active ingredient in OxyContin, was not listed as a cause of Prince's death.

According to the search warrants, investigators found several pills labeled Watson 853 - the identifier for generic hydrocodone-acetaminophen.

The documents say some of the drugs in Prince's bedroom were in a suitcase with the name "Peter Bravestrong" on it. Police believe Bravestrong was an alias that Prince used when he travelled.

A message left with Schulenberg's attorney wasn't immediately returned. Prince never had a prescription for fentanyl, which is considered highly potent and addictive, but some of the pills tested positive for a synthetic version of the drug.

The day before Prince's death, Schulenberg prescribed three drugs for him: clonidine, which is used to treat high blood pressure and attention deficit disorder, and the anti-anxiety agents Valium and hydroxyzine pamoate. Almost a year after his accidental overdose death at his suburban Minneapolis studio and estate, investigators still don't know how he got the fentanyl that killed him.

"The oxycodone in this case is only tangential to the whole case", Tamburino said. Medics revived him with two doses of a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

Prince, whose full name was Prince Rogers Nelson, died April 21, 2016 at the age of 57.

On another occasion, within weeks of their 1996 wedding, Garcia said she was informed that Prince was in the hospital and had to have his stomach pumped.

Schulenberg told detectives he put that prescription in Johnson's name for Prince's privacy. She said she didn't question what they were. The Kornfelds' attorney, William Mauzy, has said Andrew had meant to give the medication to a doctor. They say it's a complex thing to track illegally obtained pills, and investigators and prosecutors want to build strong cases before interviewing witnesses who might provide useful information.

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